Sprint just spilled the beans about their Galaxy Tab launch, which is now available for pre-order on sprint.com/tab. Their first 7-inch Android tablet will debut on November 14th for the price of $399.99 with a two-year contract or eligible upgrade.

Customers will have two options for data plans. Power users can get 5 GB of data for $59.99 per month and the budget-minded can get a 2 GB plan for $29.99 per month. Both plans also include unlimited messaging. If customers want to use their Tab as a WiFi hotspot (for up to five devices), Sprint will charge an additional $29.99 per month.

Based on the current pricing the total cost of ownership for Sprint’s Tab will be $1119.75 (2GB), $1839.75 (5GB), or $2559.51 (5GB + hotspot) plus taxes and fees.

Data is data, so I’m a little disappointed Sprint is charging an additional $30 for the option to tether. If you are going to create different tiers of plans for your customers they should be able to use that bucket of data however they want.

Those who pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Tab will have their name added to the wait list at their local Sprint store where they will get an appointment to complete their purchase and get a free device setup beginning on Sunday, November 14.

We are still waiting to receive a review unit, but check out our hands-on report for initial impressions. I still think the Galaxy Tab is the best Android tablet available this holiday season, but don’t forget many are working on Honeycomb (Android 3.0) tablets for early next year (including Samsung).

If you are on Sprint, sound off with your thoughts about the Tab price and plan options. Will you rush out to your local Sprint store on November 14th or wait till next year and see what happens with the Android 3.0 tablets?

Additional Samsung Galaxy Tab features include:

Android Market for access to more than 80,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience

ThinkFree Office to open and make changes to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF documents

Sprint Navigation can also be added for $2.99 per day or $9.99 per month

Stereo speakers

Wi-Fi — 802.11 b/g/n

Integrated GPS

2GB onboard memory, 16GB microSD card included, with support for up to a 32GB microSD card

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Oct. 25, 2010 — What do you get when you combine an entertainment device for e-books, movies, music and games with an amazing 7-inch screen and fast and easy access to the Web, video chat and apps in an incredibly portable design? Samsung Galaxy Tabâ„¢, the award-winning1 mobile tablet, available from Sprint beginning Sunday, Nov. 14, at select Sprint Stores, Business Sales, Web sales and telesales at
1-800-SPRINT1.

Beginning today, customers can pre-order a tablet at any participating Sprint Store with the purchase of a $50 Sprint gift card. Customers who pre-order Samsung Galaxy Tab will have their name added to the Device Wait List and be contacted to set up an appointment to complete their Samsung Galaxy Tab purchase beginning on Sunday, Nov. 14. Through the pre-order process, customers will have peace of mind knowing they are able to get the device they want and receive the full retail experience, including Sprint’s Ready Now customer service experience.

It will cost $399.99 (taxes not included) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement on a 3G Tablet Mobile Broadband plan. Sprint customers will have two rate plans to choose from for their Samsung Galaxy Tab: a 2GB data plan with unlimited messaging for $29.99 per month or a 5GB data plan with unlimited messaging for $59.99 per month (plus taxes and surcharges).

“Samsung Galaxy Tab is another Android innovation for Sprint, adding a new category of wireless devices to the Sprint portfolio,” said Fared Adib, vice president — Product Development, Sprint. “Samsung Galaxy Tab is a powerful entertainment device and business tool that offers our customers high-end features, including a blazing-fast processor, beautiful touchscreen for watching videos and Web browsing, two cameras, video chat capabilities and access to the Sprint 3G network with affordable rate plans that let customers take advantage of the advanced data capabilities their device offers.”

Samsung Galaxy Tab weighs less than a pound and features a brilliant 7-inch enhanced TFT touchscreen display, Android 2.2, 1GHz Hummingbird Application processor, supporting 3D graphics and smooth Web browsing, as well as dual cameras for video chat on-the-go. It offers two fast and easy ways to enter text onto the tablet — a virtual keyboard and SWYPE technology for faster and more intuitive text input with one continuous finger motion across the virtual keyboard.

Samsung Galaxy Tab features two cameras — a 3-megapixel camera with camcorder and flash, and a front-facing, 1.3-megapixel camera enabling video chat. It also offers mobile hotspot capability as an optional add-on to simultaneously connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices for an additional $29.99 per month (plus taxes and surcharges).

Additional key features include:

Android Marketâ„¢ for access to more than 80,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience

ThinkFree Office to open and make changes to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF documents

Sprint Navigation can also be added for $2.99 per day or $9.99 per month (plus taxes and surcharges)

Stereo speakers

Wi-Fi — 802.11 b/g/n

Integrated GPS

2GB onboard memory, 16GB microSD card included, with support for up to a 32GB microSD card

4,000 mAh battery

On-The-Go Movie Theater Experience

Samsung Media Hub offers an easy-to-use mobile video store with movies and TV shows available for purchase or rental and video content set up for an HD-like entertainment experience. Users can quickly get downloads of a full library of video content powered by some of the biggest names in entertainment using Wi-Fi, including MTV Networks, NBC Universal and Paramount.

Samsung Galaxy Tab will also enable sharing user-generated video content with other devices with Samsung’s exclusive AllShare service. AllShare wirelessly shares stored music, pictures and HD-like video (720p) to other DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certifiedâ„¢ home electronics, including HDTVs, monitors, digital cameras and printers. Through AllShare, users can capture special moments with the phone’s camera and camcorder and wirelessly show them to friends or family on their DLNA-certified HDTV or download music from a PC to Samsung Galaxy Tab and take it on the road.

To make staying connected faster and easier, Samsung Galaxy Tab includes Samsung Social Hub, designed to integrate social networking services, messages, personal and business email, calendars and contacts. Calendar information from portal calendars, such as Google Calendar and social networking services, are displayed together in one calendar with two-way synchronization.

Samsung Galaxy Tab will operate on the Sprint 3G network and customers can be confident in their ability to stay connected. According to the results of a 13-city test conducted byPC World on 3G performance, no one has a more reliable network than Sprint. For the second consecutive year, Sprint’s reliability rates were second-to-none.

PC World’s test involved Sprint, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in 13 major cities in all regions of the country during December 2009 and January 2010. In all, roughly 9,000 individual tests of Sprint’s 3G service were conducted from 280 testing locations. Testing sessions were one minute in duration per location, and network performance can be highly variable from neighborhood to neighborhood. In laptop-based tests, Sprint tied with another carrier for first in 3G network reliability.

With the Sprint Free Guarantee, customers can take advantage of Samsung Galaxy Tab for 30 days. If not completely satisfied, customers may return the device within 30 days to get reimbursed for the device purchase and activation fee, get both the early termination and restocking fees waived, and receive a full refund for the monthly service plan charges.2

Sprint also offers online self help through www.sprint.com and proactive data usage email and/or text notifications from Sprint will allow user to manage consumption of data to prevent billing surprises.

Application Developers

A Sprint developer guide for Samsung Galaxy Tab will be available on the Sprint Application Developer website beginning Nov. 14. The developer guide will provide details for an Android 2.2 tablet and how to take advantage of Samsung Galaxy Tab’s unique hardware and software capabilities on the Sprint network.

In addition, Samsung Galaxy Tab development will be featured at the Sprint Developer Conference in breakout sessions, discussed during the Android coding lab and demonstrated in the exhibit hall. The Sprint Developer Conference is Oct. 26-28 in Santa Clara, Calif. Developers can register for the conference at http://developer.sprint.com/devcon2010.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48.1 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. With its customer-focused strategy, you can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He resides in Dallas and carries the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and HTC One as his daily devices. Ask him a question on Twitter or Google+ and he is likely to respond. | Ethics statement

Most Tweeted This Week

http://Website mike

400$ on contract?I’m not buying it

Prince77

Seriously, what is the point in these tablets anyway? It’s bigger than a phone smaller than a laptop, but you can damn near do everything with the tablet that you can do with a phone or a laptop. So what is the real reason for them?

http://Website anakin78z

No offense, but isn’t it pointless to ask at this point? You can read the comments of a slew of previous posts on tablets, or wait 2 weeks and see what the reactions are here.

I’m gonna wait the 2 weeks and will likely get one myself to find out. I’m hoping to get the same great experience as I do on my phone, only with more screen space, which will likely enhance the experience, and that front facing camera I’ve been coveting, so that I can finally video chat on the go.

http://Website Techblogger

Holding out for Wifi only version. Should be a sweet investment.

http://Website nabstam

I just purchased one yesterday. I did not purchase the data plan. Most places I go i have WiFi. I like it already. It is going to take time to learn, but i like it already. The only problem is I am looking for accessories and can not find any.

http://Website adam s

Confused about why u get sprint navagation for free on sprint cell phones, also unlimited data but neither on the tab. Does anyone know why?

http://Website Solitaire

What if we just want the tablet with no required contract? I’m getting very tired of being manipulated by the phone companies. Going to only pay-as-you-go service as my contracts expire.

http://Website nabstam

I agree with you. I purchased it without the contract and data plan. I am going to start by using WiFi first and see if I even need the data plan.

http://zalzalaweb.com/jens anakin78z

This only has 2gb internal? The European version has 16!

Also, $60 for 5gb is asking for way too much. Even $30 for 2gb is too much. Sprint has to realize that without telephony, this will be a second device for most people, and adding another 30 or 60 bucks a month is not something most people will jump at.

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